Relocating skate park put on back burner

BRICK — The fate of the township’s skate park is no clearer now than when the ramps opened almost a year ago.

Labor Day weekend will mark the one-year anniversary of the opening of the skate park at the Drum Point Sports Complex. On Monday, township, police and school officials seemed uncertain about the future of the skate park — some saying relocating the ramps was still needed, others saying last year’s problems had dissipated.

Because the skate park is located directly behind Emma Havens Young Elementary School, problems with the skate park, and skaters, came up periodically throughout the 2004-05 school year. The skateboarders were a distraction for students, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Seidenberger said. He said he also had reports of skaters entering the school without permission, teachers’ vehicles being broken into, and dangerous conditions during times when buses moved in and out of the site.

But moving the skate park away from the elementary school wasn’t something that only school and township officials seemed to be onboard with this spring. Skaters themselves said they would like the park relocated so they can use it more often.

Right now, the rules state that the park is open during the school year only after 3 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends and when school is not in session, the park is open from dawn until dusk. Township officials have said that if the skate park was moved away from the school, it could be open from dawn until dusk year-round.

“I think the understanding was that the town was going to move that [the skate park],” Seidenberger said.

The superintendent said if the township is reconsidering that proposal, “we’ll work it out.” He said he would like to be kept abreast of what the plans are.

Councilman Anthony Matthews, the Township Council’s Board of Education liaison, said he would definitely keep Seidenberger and district officials in the loop. As far as he knew, Matthews said issues with the skate park have calmed down considerably. He said he was at the park on Saturday and there were only three or four skaters present.

“The problem will arise again when people go back to school,” Matthews said.

Township Business Administrator Scott MacFadden said relocating the skate park hasn’t been something he has actively pursued as of late. He said he also thought complaints stemming from the park had dwindled since the park opened last year.

However, if the park becomes more of a problem at the start of the school year, MacFadden said he would look into alternatives more aggressively.

In March, Kinney reported that police officers responded to the school nine times from Sept. 1, 2003, to June 25, 2004. After the skate park opened last year, police officers had visited the school 122 times between Sept. 1, 2004, and Feb. 22 of this year.

Brick Police Lt. Douglas Kinney said the police department received a number of complaints from the school in June while school was still in session. This summer, police officers have continued to check the area on an ongoing basis.

“We have a presence in that park routinely,” Kinney said.

A berm, or buffer, that has been put around the perimeter of the skate park will hopefully help the situation and give the park more privacy, Matthews said. But he said the park would be a topic of conversation at his upcoming meeting with Board of Education representatives.

“If it gets [moved], we want to find a permanent home for it,” Matthews said, adding that he thinks the skate ramps should remain at the Drum Point Sports Complex.

According to previous estimates provided by MacFadden, the cost of moving the skate park is about $25,000. The same company that installed the equipment has to move it because of product liability insurance. Therefore, moving the skate park cannot be an in-house job.

— Jennifer Dome